22-07-2025
Malaysian artist finds the perfect balance between art and science
Material scientist, visual artist and academic. It's rare to meet someone who wears all three hats and thrives, but Lyne Ismail does exactly that.
But the path she's taken is neither common nor easy.
'To be honest, it's a lonely journey. There aren't many people I know who are in the same position as me, occupying that space between art and science, so there isn't really anyone to talk to about my experiences,' said Lyne, 56, in a recent interview at Temu House in Petaling Jaya.
Though her art-making is solitary, her debut exhibition Cat Town: Energy, Matter, And The Art Of Becoming – on show at Temu House until July 27 – has drawn an enthusiastic crowd.
It features 13 large abstract paintings and a live cymatic installation, The Voice Of Water (The Mayor) , where water forms mandala-like patterns in response to sound and vibration.
Lyne's 'The Voice Of Water (The Mayor)', a live installation with subwoofer, water basin, LED light and video loop.
Released with the exhibition is Lyne's book, Musings Of The Spring Water , a collection of reflective essays that serve as philosophical anchors to the artworks.
These writings extend the themes on canvas, asking: 'How does matter think and move?' and 'What is the balance between control and surrender in creation?'
The book also introduces the archetypes featured as series in the show: The Mayor, The Boy, The Girl and, of course, Cat Town.
The first print is limited to 100 copies, with a Bahasa Malaysia version to be released soon by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Jumping into the deep
With a degree in Chemistry, a PhD in Engineering, and a promising career in semiconductor research, it's striking that Lyne chose to take a different path – art.
'I love what I did, but there came a point when I started feeling like something was missing. I was writing and publishing research paper after research paper, and I started thinking to myself, 'How does this benefit everyday people?'. At the time, I was painting as a hobby, so I figured I needed a challenge,' recalled Lyne.
'One day, I told my boss I wanted to enrol in a Fine Arts course. I didn't realise then that once I opened that door, there'd be no turning back. So I left engineering and science behind and jumped into art. I didn't know if I'd sink or swim – only that I had to try,' she added.
The opening reception for Lyne's show at Temu House. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star
Pursuing a Master's in Fine Arts was far from smooth sailing for Lyne, who calls it a humbling experience.
'I was older than most of the other students in my cohort, plus I didn't have a background in art like they did. When I thought I did something well, it turned out not to be the case. So I was basically playing catch up.'
During semester breaks, Lyne locked herself up in the studio and relearned colour theory, brush strokes and other techniques from YouTube.
'One day I put a canvas on the floor and just started throwing paint on it. I went crazy – I just really didn't care at that point. And that's how I came up with my first work, The Egg Pt 1 . It's under the Birth series, because it's like a rebirth of me,' said Lyne.
After completing her Master's degree, Lyne became a lecturer in visual art theory at Universiti Malaya (UM), where she's been teaching for the past seven years.
This year, she took on the role of executive director of UM's Department of Research Synergy under the Office of the Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation).
Mirrors of the soul
About the exhibition, Lyne put it simply: 'At its core, it's really a self-portrait.'
'When I walk around the show with all the pieces surrounding me, I feel so vulnerable, because these are the different facets of me that I'm showing to people, which I haven't really done before,' she said.
The exhibition also immerses viewers in abstraction, sensory experience and philosophical inquiry.
Lyne began writing Musings Of The Spring Water soon after finishing her Master's in 2017, completing it earlier this year.
'I wrote the book to make sense of what I was going through, because when I went into arts, it disrupted the structured narrative I had inside me, and there was a time when I really struggled and questioned everything,' she said.
Lyne's book, 'Musings of the Spring Water' is limited to 100 copies. — AZMAN GHANI/The Star
The book's title comes from Rumi's poem, The Two Intelligences , which speaks of two kinds of knowledge: acquired and inherent.
'Acquired intelligence comes from outside sources, like school. But Rumi speaks of another kind: an inherent intelligence, 'like a spring overflowing its springbox' – something within you that flows outward, fresh and alive,' said Lyne.
In the book, a series of stories called Tales From Cat Town are interspersed between Lyne's reflections. The Mayor, The Boy and The Girl are all citizens of Cat Town, but they're also all different parts of Lyne.
'Cat Town is this fictional town borne from my imagination. A place you go to with the hope to fix certain things in the past, but if you're not careful and get too absorbed in changing the past, you get stuck in the town and eventually transform into a cat.
'The Boy represents action and creating without overthinking, so his works are in the Energy series.
'The Girl's works belong to the Colour series – she's analytical and methodical, yet quietly rebellious, which shows in the bursts of colour,' she said.
'Disrupt' (oil on canvas, 2025) under the 'Colour' series.
The installation, The Voice Of Water , allows visitors to take on the role of The Mayor – you can add more water, move around the metal ring and bottle caps, and even change the colour of the ring light.
'The Mayor is the part of me that has to control everything, which is reflected in this installation. It was also the part of me that pushed me to write my thoughts down in the first place, which became the book.'
The water's patterns and vibrations, projected on the wall, respond to calming music played at 432 Hertz – often called a 'healing frequency.'
'Humans are around 60% water, so imagine the healing power of the vibrations. At the show's opening, one of my friends brought his three autistic sons, and for most of the afternoon, they spent it near the installation, absorbing the soothing energy,' said Lyne.
Blending art and science
When people ask what she is, Lyne simply says: both scientist and artist.
'I went into art to deepen my understanding of science. I felt I needed art to become a better scientist, because in the end, all these inventions and technologies are for us – for people.
'To truly understand humanity, you need the arts. Values, ethics and philosophy aren't taught in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics); they're found in the arts. That's why I believe anyone in STEM should also learn the arts,' she said.
'To truly understand humanity, you need the arts,' says Lyne.
For a long time, Lyne felt like she was just circling around what others expected of her.
'This is a return to making, and to the raw, unresolved truths that art-making allows. This show is possible because I feel that I can finally say, 'this is where I've been',' she concluded.
Cat Town: Energy, Matter, And The Art Of Becoming is showing at Temu House in Petaling Jaya until July 27. Free admission. More info:
